The present invention relates to textile processing oils as well as to a process for facilitating the processability of fibers or fibrous materials, more particularly to facilitating processability in the woollen and worsted systems of textile processing.
In the textile industry, textile processing oils are used as processing aids in order to facilitate the various processing steps in which textile fibers (or fibrous material prior to fiber processing) are converted into textile goods such as yarn, woven or non-woven cloth, knitted goods, felts, carpets, rugs, twine and sewing threads. The woollen and worsted industries have evolved rather distinct systems for processing the raw, fibrous materials and this gives rise to the characteristic differences between woollens and worsteds. Although wool was the original raw material for both the woollen and worsted industry, both now use other raw materials either alone or together with wool; therefore the terms "woollen system" and "worsted system" may indicate the manufacturing technique applied instead of the material used. In the woollen system the principal reason for using a processing oil is to facilitate carding and various stages of spinning, and in the worsted system it is to facilitate combing.
Traditionally, vegetable and animal oils as well as some mineral oil-based lubricants have been used in the worsted system but more versatile textile oils which can be used in both systems have been developed. Of particular relevance to the invention are compositions disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,841 and in British patent specification No. 1,172,719. The U.S. patent discloses a polyoxyalkylene compound, particularly a copoly(oxyethyleneoxypropylene)butyl monoether, and a non-hindered polyphenol stabilizer. The British patent specification discloses textile oils based on condensation products having a melting point below 12.degree. C. and having been prepared by reacting one or more 1,2-alkylene oxides with two or three carbon atoms with a mixture of monohydric saturated aliphatic primary or secondary alcohols with 8 to 18 carbon atoms, this mixture comprising at least 60% by weight of linear, straight chain alcohols. Although such textile processing oils of the prior art can be used with some success, they are not capable of achieving the delicate balance between miscibility with water on the one hand and miscibility with oil on the other, which is in many cases desirable. The need remains for more sophisticated textile processing oils, especially for use in woollen systems and particularly in applications for the processing of greasy wool containing raw materials, which are highly compatible with both water and oil.